{"id":56,"date":"2017-05-30T02:50:25","date_gmt":"2017-05-30T02:50:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jayfublerharvey.com\/alinetest3\/?page_id=56"},"modified":"2017-05-30T02:50:25","modified_gmt":"2017-05-30T02:50:25","slug":"blog","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/alinesternphotography.com\/chicago-photographer\/blog\/","title":{"rendered":"Blog"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\r\n\t\t\t\t\tMarch 16, 2026<\/span>\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\tby Aline Stern<\/a><\/span>\r\n\t\t\t\t\tUncategorized<\/a><\/span>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t0<\/a><\/span>\r\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>

Chicago Family Photography Spring and Summer Booking 2026<\/a><\/h2>
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I am writing this on a snowy March day and it seems impossible that Spring is just a few weeks away! As always – here is blog post with my Spring and Summer Family portrait pricing and availability. To book – just scroll down to the session you are interested in, the price and what is included will be there, click on the booking link and pick your date. If you don’t see a day\/date that works for you, shoot me an email at info@alinesternphotography.com and let me know what date would work for you instead and I will check if I’m available! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A few changes for this Spring\/Summer season: For the first time I have made Sunday my weekend shooting day instead of Saturday. This is not my preference – I like shooting Saturday so I can have Sunday as rain backup but my daughter is a high school soccer player now and all her games are Saturday and I don’t want to miss them! If Sundays don’t work for you and you’d like to do a Saturday instead, just send me an email – some games are morning and some games are afternoon, maybe we can figure out a time that works on a Saturday instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The other change is that I went back to my lower weekday pricing for both weekdays and weekends in Spring and Summer. Please be aware that in the Fall I will have different and higher pricing for weekends and weekdays (the same as last year, so if you’d like to check if a Fall shoot is in your budget, just check out my earlier blog posts for 2025 pricing). I know times are tough, everything is getting more expensive and I want you to have the option to book with my more affordable pricing – so if price is a big factor for you for booking, please choose one of my Spring or Summer dates instead of waiting for Fall! Again – I will not be lowering my Fall pricing (I wish I could but I can’t afford it since my costs of business have also drastically gone up since last year), so if you’d like lower pricing – don’t wait and book as soon as you can! Think of summer flowers, beachy sessions, lush colors and almost guaranteed sunny, warm weather! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But now to what you are here to find out \u2013 my pricing! I offer four different kinds of sessions. Silver Sessions are what I used to call Mini Sessions. They are my shorter outdoor sessions. Some would call them \u201cMini Sessions\u201d but I had people book them, expecting a 5 minute session and I just can\u2019t do that when I\u2019m outside with all that beautiful nature around me. So to avoid confusion, my outdoor sessions are called Silver Session for my 20-30 minute session and Gold for my 40-60 minute session. I also offer Extended Family Sessions. A set of grandparents is always welcome at your Gold Session but if brother-in-law and his family and both sets of grandparents and so on want to join, I do require you to book an extended family session. This will give us enough time to focus on everybody and of course get that perfect family picture of everybody together!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In-home, Downtown and shoots in the suburbs have to be booked as Gold sessions!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Gold Session<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

$550<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the Gold sessions we take our time and try to capture moments and emotion. We spend 40 to 60 minutes together. We start out with the sort of pictures we\u2019d do during a Silver session \u2013 smile in the camera, the perfect family portrait. After we get those shots, we play, we laugh, we run around. I\u2019m going to make this experience as relaxed and positive and fun as possible for you and your kids. My goal is to get everybody out of their shell and to just capture love and personality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a Gold session you receive at least 30 pictures, usually more, in both color and black-and-white versions. You will receive an online gallery with your photos to download as high-resolution files and an option to order prints.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you book, it will let you pick a time. I always try and shoot within two hours after sunrise or before sunset. I make exceptions if those times don\u2019t work for you but the photos won\u2019t be quite as golden and rich looking as they do in these pictures. So please consider the timing when you book! Once I receive your booking I will be in touch to decide on the perfect time to shoot since sunrise and sunset times change. Weekend Golden Hour (that hour of perfect light about an hour before sunset) is always reserved for Gold Sessions! Downtown and shoots in the suburbs can only be booked as Gold Sessions! <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

To book click the link below:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BOOK YOUR GOLD SESSION HERE<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Silver Sessions<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

$350<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you need an updated family picture? Do you just want some nice pictures of you and your kids but you don\u2019t want anything time consuming? Do you have a toddler who doesn\u2019t need time to warm up to strangers but also has the attention span of a goldfish? Then the Silver Session may be a good option for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Outdoor Silver sessions are 20 to 30 minutes long. I shoot most of my outdoor Silver sessions at Winnemac Park. It\u2019s the perfect place for Silver Sessions because we can get a good variety of pictures in a short amount of time and the foliage there is gorgeous. I also shoot Silver Sessions in a few other locations close to the Lincoln Square\/Andersonville Area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Included in the price of a Silver are SIX edited photos in both color and black-and-white. You may purchase extra pictures for $30 or upgrade to a full gallery for $250. You will receive an online gallery with your selected and edited photos to download as high-resolution files and an option to order prints.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you book it will let you pick a time \u2013 I always try and shoot within two hours after sunrise or before sunset. I make exceptions if those times don\u2019t work for you but the photos won\u2019t be quite as golden and rich looking as they do in these pictures. Also the sun goes down REALLY early in late October \u2013 if you have school aged kids, weekdays might not be possible unless you take them out early! So please consider the timing when you book! Once I receive your booking I will be in touch to decide on the perfect time to shoot since sunrise and sunset times change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To book just click on the link:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BOOK YOUR SILVER SESSION HERE<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Extended Family Session<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

$900<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(up to 20 people)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you finally have everybody in town and you want to get the perfect picture of all of you! To book an extended Family session \u2013 book it as a Gold Session but please mention in the booking questionnaire that it is an extended family session and how many people will be part of it. Or alternatively, shoot me an email and we\u2019ll find the perfect time and date for you. I do not travel further than 45 minutes from Lincoln Square\/Chicago for sessions so if you are in a far West or South suburb, let me know, I know lots of photographers and should be able to send you some recommendations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My extended Family sessions are always posed sessions. We simply don\u2019t have enough time to do fun, unposed shots in extended family sessions and these kind of sessions can be very overwhelming for little kids so I try to not drag them out. A lot of clients book both a full session for their extended family photos as well as a mini or a full session for their own family on a different day if they want to get more pictures of just their family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you have more than 20 people, please contact me for pricing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Please contact me directly to book your Extended Family Session<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Studio Mini\/Milestone Sessions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

$300 \u2013 weekdays and in my North Center Studio only<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did your baby just start sitting? Or did they turn one? Did you just want one timeless updated family photo but dad doesn\u2019t enjoy having his picture taken for half an hour? My studio minis might just be the perfect session for you. They are 10-15 minute sessions and include 3 pictures. For backdrops we use classic and neutral colors. I will be offering Christmas and holiday themed sessions in November but there will be separate booking once those go online!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Please send me an email to schedule a Studio Mini!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To answer a few frequently asked questions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What if it rains?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I always have rain backup days! For Sunday shoots, that\u2019s usually the following Saturday (or if we see in the forecast that Sunday will be bad, we could do the Saturday before) but if that doesn’t work, I will try to find a different date for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I can\u2019t make any of the days you offer for shoots! Do you have any flexibility?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I do! I try to stick to the same days as much as possible (since I have kids of my own with sports and after school schedules but also so I don\u2019t accidentally double book myself) but just let me know what you’d prefer and I see if we can make it work!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Will you come photograph my daughter\u2019s birthday party?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I currently do not photograph events<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I hope to see you guys soon! Shoot me an email at info@alinesternphotography.com if there are any other questions!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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